On First Dates
by Zelda Ophelia
Summary: The natural progression is from dinner to drinks to something more. For the "Now" prompt at the Five Stages of Love challenge. Third in the "Of Locker Rooms and Lunch Dates" series, sequel to "On Food".


**Author's Note:** Third in the "Of Locker Rooms and Lunch Dates" series, sequel to "On Food". Thanks to E for the beta job. For the Five Stages of Love prompt: Now.

::

The natural progression is from dinner to drinks to something more. But on their first time out alone, just the two of them, she calls it a night as soon as their check arrives. Her excuse is that she has to work in the morning, but she knows that Don - at some point that night while they were eating, he became "Don" instead of "Flack" - sees through it. And that he understands, squeezing her hand as he snags the check and says he's got it this time. They both know there will be a next time.

In fact, there is a week of next times: lunch on the go between interviews for the Melia case, drinks after work, quick moments chatting in the break room, and, much to her surprise, at the end of the week an invitation out to the park on their day off.

"The park?" she asks, leaning against her locker. She isn't certain how most of these encounters end up in the locker room, but she's glad for the privacy, considering they're standing far too close together to be appropriate. "Tomorrow? You want to go to the park together tomorrow?"

"Sure. You know, eat some junk food, ride the carousel, maybe take a boat out-"

"The water'll be freezing," she points out, even though she's smiling at the idea. It does sound like it'd be fun.

"-and if you're up for it, sticking around for the concert tomorrow night. It's supposed to be a bunch of different local bands. I thought it'd be fun, but if you'd rather get your bangs cut--" He broke off with a teasing look in his eyes.

She's never going to live that down, is she? Jess can't help but grin, though. "I think it's a good idea."

"You sure?" he asks, a relieved grin spreading across his face when she nods. "Good. I, um..." he pauses as his cell phone started ringing, looking at the caller ID. "It's Mac, I've gotta go. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, tomorrow," Jess says, watching him as he leaves. She catches herself humming as she grabs her jacket to leave, pausing to force the goofy grin off her face. The last thing she needs is for Maka to corner her with questions.

::

It's nearly noon when he knocks on her door, and they're quickly on their way to the park, joking about their plans as they walk (he wants to walk by one of the ice rinks, she wants to take a carriage ride, they agree on getting ice cream despite the cool weather). The concert is actually an all-day thing, and they watch the band playing before deciding to wander around the park a bit--they're wearing wristbands to get back in and can hear the music fairly well.

A tune of a different sort interrupts their walk, and Don grabs her hand, tugging her toward the sound. "Ice cream?"

"We haven't had lunch yet," she reminds him, despite following along.

"You don't want ice cream for lunch?"

She pauses, pretending to think about it. She's barely able to keep the straight, if exaggeratedly thoughtful, look on her face when he starts laughing, pulling her close and wrapping an arm around her as they walk. "I supposed it can't be much worse than anything else we could be eating," she says, leaning her head against his shoulder. "I'll have to go for a longer run tomorrow, regardless of what junk food we eat."

"Well, I can probably think of other ways we can burn it off--" He puts his hands up and quickly backpedals when she turns to stare at him in shock. "Row boats, out on the lake. That's what I was referring to not, you know... Not that I'd be against that, but we're not really - I'm messing this up, aren't I?"

"I know what you mean," she says softly, leaning against him and resting her head on his shoulder.

He presses a kiss to her forehead, something that surprises her. They're still stuck in this fuzzy gray area, more than just friends but not quite dating. This outing is probably a step closer in the dating direction, but the topic isn't something they've talked about yet, instead just going with the flow and enjoying their time together. She isn't against the idea - she isn't against the idea of sleeping with him either, but she agrees they're not ready for that yet - and lets him know, slipping her arms around his neck as she reaches up for a kiss, a real kiss.

If the enthusiasm with which he responds is any indication, he likes the idea, too.


End file.
